The Taoism of Strength & Flexibility in Your Asana Practice

We humans tend to understand earth in terms of duality -- like light/dark, male/female, winter/summer, but the symbol of yin/yang illustrates clearly how in the height of any duality , the seed of the balancing concept is being planted and germinating (hence, the dots).    This concept of working in opposite directions applies directly to your yoga practice to find and maintain a balance by playing with the dualities of strength and flexibility and opposing isometric actions.

Many people mistakenly think yoga is all about flexibility.  I don't know how many times I've heard people comment, "I'm not flexible enough to do yoga".  Or others feel that only certain poses build strength.   And while its true that some poses will clearly illustrate to us if we are lacking in flexibility or strength in certain areas, there is no pose that is all about one or the other........just like yin and yang shows us. 

In some poses, you will have to activate strength in one area of your body to find true flexibility, length, and openness in another.  Think uttanasana & forward bends in general.  The legs must be fully engaged to allow the spine its full release.  

The same is true for for awakening your core strength -- in order to do so, you must lengthen and extend yourself beyond your normal limits with your limbs.  Think plank.  You must reach out through the crown of your head and heels in opposing directions and trust that your core will wake up and sustain you.  

Similarly, to engage the full strength and grounding support of your legs, you must work the thigh and calf and sometimes even the bones and muscles in opposing directions.  Think Virabhadrasana (Warrior) I.  The head of femur is internally rotated in the hip and moving back toward the hamstrings while the lower leg muscles work in external rotation, helping to ground the outer heel down toward the floor. 

And in Parsvakonasana it is important that the upper arm is externally rotated and the forearm is internally rotated.  This opens the chest and stabilizes the shoulder.  Yin and yang at work to bring out your best yet again!

I have found in my personal practice that embracing the dual nature of my body in poses has made a significant difference in how I experience the poses.  It is the key to finding balance, comfort, and ease in any asana.  

Namaste~
Tammie